THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 1996 TAG: 9601300281
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
A former Hampton University student has sued the school, saying she has waited more than a year for her master's degree and still hasn't received it.
The suit, filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court on Jan. 19, says the student completed her requirements for a master's degree in education in the fall of 1994.
``They've been telling me for a year, `Everything is fine, everything's straight, you should be receiving it,' '' said the former student, Kristin Meyers, 33, who lives in Virginia Beach. ``On a monthly basis, I've contacted them and gotten nothing.''
A lawsuit represents only one side of a dispute. University officials did not comment on the case Monday. ``We received the notice on Friday and are currently investigating the details of the allegations,'' spokeswoman Richelle Payne said.
Meyers, who wants to be an elementary school teacher, said that without her diploma and transcript she can only get a job as a part-time substitute teacher in the Virginia Beach school system. She is seeking $750,000 in damages.
``They have all my paperwork,'' she said Monday. ``That took me out of the job market last year. They're about to take me out of it this year. I feel I'm very employable, and I can't prove I have anything.''
Meyers said that Hampton University officials have never said that she did not fulfill graduation requirements.
``I'm very, very frustrated. I've done everything I could. All I really wanted was what I earned. I didn't want to make a big stink. They just dropped the ball every time.''
Meyers' suit said she enrolled in a special program allowing students to get a master's degree by taking courses at both Hampton and the Summit Montessori School in Virginia Beach. Meyers said that five other students attended the program and that they have received their diplomas.
``Meyers has been informed by Hampton University that she has done all acts required of her to receive such a degree,'' the suit said.
Meyers estimates that she took about 10 courses at each site and spent a total of $4,000 in tuition. She said her grade point average was about a 3.7 out of a possible 4.
``It's a simple case of bureaucratic nightmare,'' her lawyer, Barry Dorans, said Monday. ``If you go to school and do all your stuff, they should give you a degree. They shouldn't keep saying, `I'll get to it, I'll get to it.' ''
KEYWORDS: CIVIL LAWSUIT by CNB